Julia and the Shark

Captivating * The Telegraph *A tale of courage, understanding and compassion * The Observer *A triumph * The Daily Mail *Illustrated with dreamlike fluency * The Observer *Beautifully written, sensitive exploration of mental illness, fear and families * The Daily Mail *A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure! * Jacqueline Wilson *Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars. A classic from cover to cover. * Eoin Colfer *There are no wasted words in this book. Like a seashell, or a flying bird, it is uncluttered and vital. The illustrations, by Tom de Freston, are mesmerising. I loved it. * Hilary McKay *Tom de Freston’s stunning illustrations perfectly complement the poetry of Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s story * Cressida Cowell *A rich, immersive and wondrous journey, through deep darkness to hope and light * Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs *What a gorgeous book - calm, funny, heartfelt, wise, full of the quiet and force of the sea * Ross Montgomery, author of The Midnight Guardians *I fell in love with the tale itself, the setting (I do love a lighthouse!), the characters and the little details - it’s a beautiful, forceful storm of a book * Emma Carroll, author of Letters from the Lighthouse *INCREDIBLE. Poignant and lyrical and beautiful, it’s my favourite of Kiran’s books so far and that is saying something. Tom’s stunning artwork just brings it to a whole other level * Cat Doyle *Truly extraordinary. Julia and the Shark is contemporary MG at its best but with a hint of the fantastic. It is the kind of book that you will want to have on your shelves and treasure * Katherine Webber Tsang *

A beautifully written, moving exploration of family, friendship and mental health, with exquisite illustrations by de Freston

Kiran Millwood Hargrave is an award-winning poet, playwright, and bestselling novelist. Her debut novel for children The Girl of Ink & Stars won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and the British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year. Her work has been short- and long-listed for other major prizes including the Costa Award, and the CILIP Carnegie Award. The Deathless Girls is her first novel for Young Adults. She’s a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and lives by the river in Oxford with her husband and cat.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Tom de Freston met in 2009. They have been a couple and collaborators ever since, but Julia and the Shark is their first novel. Kiran is the award-winning, bestselling author of stories including The Girl of Ink & Stars, The Way Past Winter, and The Deathless Girls, and Tom is making his illustrative debut having worked as an acclaimed artist for many years. They live in Oxford with their rescue cat Luna, in a house between a river and a forest.

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